Bushfires in Australian State Kills 2, Warnings Death Toll May Rise

Devastating bushfires across New South Wales have claimed two lives and with seven more people missing authorities expect the death toll to rise, as the blazes which have destroyed more than 150 homes continue to rage.

A body was found in a burnt-out car on the Kangawalla fire ground, near Glen Innes, with police working to formally identify the victim, the Rural Fire Service NSW said on Saturday morning.

A woman who was discovered by firefighters in the same blaze on Friday—in an unrelated incident—was treated for burns before being transferred to hospital where she later died, RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.

“We cant rule out the really grave concerns that there could be more losses or indeed more fatalities as we get through and identify details across these fire grounds,” he told reporters in Sydney.

“It was devastating. It was a storm. It wasnt a fire—it was a firestorm.”

BOM meteorologist Katarina Kovacevic says while temperatures are cooler on Saturday southerly winds tending southwesterly in the afternoon will gust up to 50km/h.

Conditions are set to worsen early next week, Kovacevic told ABC TV.

Hot temperatures combined with low relative humidity and strong northwesterly winds will increase the fire danger on Tuesday and Wednesday in northern NSW and southeast Queensland.

Fitzsimmons said of Saturdays weather: “Given the circumstances forecast for today which is a continuance of dry, windy conditions across an already very dry landscape, theres every likelihood that well see fires increRead More – Source